WSU football assistants highest paid in school history

Washington State athletic director Bill Moos constantly emphasizes that the price of success is not cheap, and Moos backed up his words by approving the highest assistant coach's salary in school history for new football defensive coordinator and secondary coach Mike Breske.

Breske will be paid $325,000 next season, the Cougars announced. Breske's predecessor, Chris Ball, previously was the highest-paid assistant coach in school history at $170,050.

Leach, who became the highest-paid employee in WSU history when he was hired last month, makes $2.25 million a year (excluding bonuses). Leach's nine full-time assistant coaches make a total of $1.8 million. That is also a school record, but it's almost $1 million less than Washington pays its assistants.

Huskies head coach Steve Sarkisian, like Leach, is guaranteed $2.25 million next season.

Moos has made a concerted effort to increase coaches salaries at WSU, which has traditionally ranked among the lowest-paying schools in a power conference. College coaching salaries have risen dramatically in recent years.

Fired head football coach Paul Wulff was paid $600,000 a year, by far the lowest head football coach's salary in the Pacific-12 Conference. WSU's nine full-time football assistants, none of whom were retained by Leach, will be paid approximately $1.225 million on contracts that run through March.

Breske, a college defensive coordinator since 1983, is making more than any WSU head coach earned before Mike Price's annual compensation was bumped from $253,000 to $429,000 after the Cougars played in the 1998 Rose Bowl.

At least two of WSU's new coaches, assistant head coach and special teams coordinator Eric Russell and linebackers coach Jeff Choate, accepted pay cuts to come to Washington State. Russell and Choate, who both grew up in nearby St. Maries, Idaho, said their desire to eventually become head coaches affected their decisions.

Russell, who was special teams and tight ends coach at Tennessee, made $250,000 last year and was due to make $275,000 next season. He now makes $225,000.

Choate, who was the special teams and nickel defense coach at Boise State, was set to make $235,450 next season with the Broncos. He's making $210,000 at WSU. Choate interviewed for the head coaching job at Eastern Illinois last month.

All contracts are for one year — standard for college assistants — and are believed to run through March 2013. WSU athletics receives little state funding.

The football coaches salaries budget does not involve chief of staff recruiting coordinator Dave Emerick ($150,000), director of operations Antonio Huffman ($80,000) or strength and conditioning coaches. Boston College football strength and conditioning coach Jason Loscalzo is rumored to be coming to WSU.